A Study Of Yao Kui’s Political Activities And Thoughts

Yao Kui was a distinguished politician of the mid-Ming Dynasty.He served in the reigns of Ming Emperor Yingzong,Ming Emperor Daizong and Ming Emperor Xianzong.His highest official position was Minister of Rites and Minister of Officials,and he finally died in office.Yao was in the middle of the Ming Dynasty,which turned from prosperity to decline after the reign of Renxuan,and was a participant in the political ups and downs of this period.He has been praised in historical documents such as "Ming Xianzong Shilu" and "Ming Shi".This paper focuses on Yao Kui’s political activities and thoughts,provides an objective and reasonable evaluation.The first chapter introduces Yao’s life in three aspects: his family background,main experiences,and writings.The second chapter compiles and explores his main political activities during the period from Zhengtong to Chenghua,trying to reflect Yao’s political achievements with historical facts,including his performance in major events,such as his political attitude after the Tumulus Change,his initiatives in the restoration of Jingtai’s storage,and his response to the controversy over the ancestral burial of Empress Dowager Ci Yi.Based on Yao’s political activities and his memorials and writings,the third chapter discusses Yao’s political thought from four perspectives: the view of rulers and ministers,the view of the people,the view of ritual and governance,and the view of governance.The fourth chapter evaluates the impact of his political activities and political thought from three aspects: the ritual system,the culture of political disputes,and local edification.Through the study of Yao Kui’s political activities and thoughts,we can know his positive role as a famous minister of his generation on the politics of the mid-Ming Dynasty.In the analysis of Yao’s personal inquiry,we can also map out the rise and influence of the eunuchs’ power,the fierce struggle for supremacy in the mid-Ming Dynasty,the choice of the scholarly community between the monarch and the society,the adherence and compromise of the Ming literati to the ritual system,and the political conflicts in the Ming Dynasty,which these are of great significance for an in-depth analysis of mid-Ming politics.When the Ming dynasty entered the stage of compliance and the social crisis gradually emerged,the political actions of the very talented officials represented by Yao Kui could only be the repair of the misrule and could not reverse the trend of the mid-Ming dynasty from prosperity to decline.At the same time,Yao Kui’s political thought also contained some profound insights that are worthy of critical inheritance and had positive significance for the present.